Software systems rule our world. My regular newsletter explores the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming.
The Human DevOps - 15th July 2024 - Rain Clouds
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It has not by any means been a good summer in the Netherlands. It's been very wet and the last few days have also been extremely windy. At work, on the streets and on the roads, there is a tension. I try to take the time to go out for a lunchtime walk at least a couple of times a week and took this photo last week during a gap in the rain. And we head towards the summer break, make sure to take some time to relax before you face the serious business of relaxation. I'm taking a break for a few weeks myself and will be back again in September. Lots to look forward to then including the (for me) much awaited return of the Fast Flow Conference in London. Over a year has passed since the last Fast Flow Conference and in my mind a lot has changed. I no longer view the software world as problem that needs to be fixed, and don't believe that "Flow" is the answer. I believe we simply that we need to embrace the chaos a little bit more in a constructive and personal manner. More on that later in the year. In the meantime I wish you a peaceful summer and that you find the time to rest and recharge this summer. We Don’t Want Utopia: Just A Stress-free Day at WorkPublished on July 14, 2024 Following up on the ideas I talked about in Writing Software Is a Political Act, I discovered Andrew Harmel-Law’s math blog where I found this picture from XKCD. This made me chuckle but it also made me think – where does the software engineer end up in this picture of the universe? Are we looking… Read More »We Don’t Want Utopia: Just A Stress-free Day at Work
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The Human Software
Software systems rule our world. My regular newsletter explores the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming.
I've spent the last two months (a short trip to Iceland aside) working on the next set of edits for HUMAN SOFTWARE. In all honesty, I thought I'd just be doing a little bit of light word work when it came to this round but as it transpired, I ended up changing about a third of the content. A few chapters were discarded, and numerous rewrites were made in the name of pacing and tension building. What I hope we've ended up with is a more intriguing and interesting journey for Beth and Chrissie...
Writers are terribly impatient. We are so fragile, we crave attention all the time. So, for us, writing into a vacuum and not getting anything back is the worst. We will happily take anything including "wow, it really sucked" or "how could you be so old and so feeble at writing?" At this point in the journey of Human Software, I'm so desperate for feedback, I'm even willing to pay for it! So that's what I did. In January, I hired an editor, and he's been great. He helped me with the...
Over the last week, I drew a map of Kent reimagined as if the 1286/7 floods hadn't happened. According to the history books, those large storms and tidal events significantly changed the coastline of eastern England. The former Wantsum Channel became blocked with alluvial mud and sand, turning the once important seaport of Sandwich into a landlocked town too far away from the sea to accept large boats. Further afield Dunwich in Suffolk suffered a similar fate: In the Anglo-Saxon period,...